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News for Islington Council residents and homeowners www.islington.gov.uk/housing Summer 2016
CONTENTS 2 / News
3/ Safety in the home
4 / Community news
4 / Supporting residents
8/ Noticeboard and diary dates
Government changes to housing law In the last edition of Your Home, we told you about the government’s plans to pass new laws that will mean some big changes for council tenants. You can find out more on this, including the plans for fixed-term tenancies, on pages 6 and 7 of IslingtonLife. Although not all details have been finalised yet, we can now provide some more information on the ‘Tenant Tax’ (or pay to stay as the legislation is also known). This is the government’s new policy for setting higher rents for those households earning more than £40,000 per year. It will be introduced from April 2017. If you live in council housing and have a household income of over £40,000 a year, the government now says you must pay an additional 15p for every £1 earned over £40,000. The extra charge has to be paid by councils to the government. As an example, if your household earns £45,000 a year, you will have to pay an extra £750 a year, which is £14.42 a week. Other examples are shown here: Household income £40,000 £45,000 £50,000 £55,000 £60,000 £65,000 £70,000 £75,000 £80,000
Additional rent each year
Additional rent each week
£0 £750 £1,500 £2,250 £3,000 £3,750 £4,500 £5,250 £6,000
£0 £14.42 £28.85 £43.27 £57.69 £72.12 £86.54 £100.96 £115.38
Only the incomes of the two highest earners will be counted, this could be from either the tenant, the tenant’s partner, or joint tenants. Households with an annual income of less than £40,000, or tenants receiving Housing Benefit or Universal Credit, will not be affected by the ‘Tenant Tax’.
What happens next? The government will tell councils how to implement the new laws in the coming months, and we will be in touch with residents who are likely to be affected. Fighting the ‘Tenant Tax’ Thank you to the many residents who came to a Town Hall meeting in March and told us how the new ‘Tenant Tax’ would affect them. Those stories helped to change the proposals when we lobbied the government and the council will continue to negotiate the best deal for residents. As details of the ‘Tenant Tax’ become clearer, we will write to tenants who we think may be affected, to advise on what information they may need to provide and where to get independent advice.
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Updates on these aspects of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 will be available on our website at www.islington.gov.uk/ housingact